They are artists: Raymond Lam

The object I used in my artwork can only use spray paint to finish, therefor I used spray paint to make my paintings.

Split

Please tell us about your art practice.

I want to use my artwork to explore the truth of world and life.

Are there any special motifs / symbols in your works?

In the series “Colourless”, I use symbols from colonial Hong Kong and nowadays Hong Kong as motifs. I try to explain the splits of Hong Kong society and people’s mind.

Split

What is your work process like?

First, I research on the idea that I have in mind, then I combine and mix different images with different ideas. A recurring theme in my artworks is the exploration of truths in life, I select different topics or issues to juxtapose with the ‘truth’, and then I make sketches based on the ideas. The final step is to create the works with different materials.

You used real flies in your works, why did you do so? And what did the flies symbolise?

At the beginning I did try with the plastic flies, you know the toys, but the size and the texture didn’t match with my expectations.

The real flies delivered a powerful impression to the viewers when they realised what they saw were dead flies, on the canvas.

Flies are perceived as something ugly and filthy, I used them to represent the truth of our world. Sometimes people do not want to face the ugly truth in reality, and we start to cover it up until the truth cannot be seen. On the other hand, the flies in Colourless series symbolised people – the government sees people as flies, when they are not disturbing then they are allowed to fly around, but when people try to do something more, they might get slapped at, just like the flies.

Can you explain the process/ steps of how you get hold of so many flies? Did you prep them before attaching them onto the canvas?

I ordered the flies from a farm in Guangxi, China, they built a cage to breed the flies for me. When the files incubate from pupa after 3 to 5 days, they are sunk into the mixture of alcohol and polyethylene glycol PEG 600 for preservation. The flies are left in the liquid for 1 day, and then taken out for 1 day air dry. And then, the farmers sent the flies to me.

When the preserved dead flies arrived my studio, I repeated the preservation process once more to make sure the flies are well preserved.

What are your inspirations?

My daily life inspires me.

How did you begin your art journey?

I studied fine arts in University, after graduation I started to work in a gallery for 6 years. Then, one day, I have an idea and began create artwork.

What makes you keep going?

The happiest thing that happened during my artistic journey is that I received support from my family and friends. And I intended to keep moving forward.

“Being an artist in Hong Kong is not easy, as the living costing in here so high, and most importantly not a lot of people in Hong Kong are interested in arts.”